The text follows the standard format for American Government texts. Modularity is excellent. This textbook covers all the main topics need for American government 101. Do you need help? The text focuses on current events less than many commercial publishers' alternatives (Keeping the Republic comes to mind). Also, I believe that the material on Parties should be placed closer to the material on campaigns and elections. I am using this text in lieu of my regular purchased text for my intro class and I am excited for the possibilities available given the interesting and useful ways the authors have organized the material in the book - while ensuring all the bread & butter chapters for an intro American Gov text are here. Then they are taught about the Founding of our country; moving on to the concepts of federalism, civil liberties, civil rights, and then to the institutions of our democracy. I find first and second year college students (the levels I teach) have limited attention spans with regard dense text no matter how articulately written. I found the navigability of the textbook easy. However, when I went over each chapter in detail I realized that there is no consistency throughout the textbook regarding the film selection. However, the day after Election Day, this chapter will need an overhaul. The text is arranged using logical progression and builds upon itself so that it effectively connects topics, theory, and application for the reader while at the same time being structured in such a way that modules are easily and readily divisible (see modularity comments). The book is very comprehensive. I found the textbook culturally sensitive and in no way offensive. If anything, as I noted above, breaking chapters into even more sections or sub-dividing those sections would enhance the ability of the instructor to chunk material. (2)The ratification process and the Federalist papers refer to the ratification of the Constitution without the Bill of Rights via Art. Offers many examples and insights to a wide variety of political views and cultures. I found it especially comprehensive in its coverage of civil rights, voter registration and turnout, and the concluding policy chapters. It provides an effective index as well as a glossary of key terms at the end of each chapter. From the origins of the US political system, the constitutional framework, participatory inputs, formal institutions, and public policy, the major points are Even though there are many different authors/contributors the book reads like a cohesive work. has on the daily lives of each and every American, motivating students to become active participants in all aspects of our political system, and helping overcome the I am impressed with the comprehensiveness of the textbook. I haven't found inconsistencies throughout the text as to terminology and framework. Log in to your program from these platforms: McGraw Hill Science Interactives (612), .bs3-nav-link-support a{
And I don't. The headings and subheadings are appealing and provide the students with direction about what is coming next. Chapter 8 on the Media is the best chapter I've seen on that subject. The president can also send troops into battle, and nominate individuals to serve in the cabinet or on the Supreme Court. The invitation to re-introduce discussion of governors, state legislatures, city councils, and other forms of sub-national government is much appreciated. However, I cant really think of a way to sidestep these concerns all authors must make choices. More charts and illustrations interspersed would help maintain student engagement as they read the chapters. Teach Me Economics. The chapters, at more than thirty pages are relatively long for some students so all of the material within a chapter may not be read. In the next sentence, the author writes "Another way the media socializes audiences is through framing." Origins of American Government Articles of Confederation Power Point Note Packet. An easy example is seen in not grouping the federal bureaucracy in part 4 with the other institutions, instead placing it in section 5, the outputs of government. I was able to move freely throughout the textbook with ease, experiencing no navigational difficulties and without finding any display features that were distracting or confusing. Updating some of the pictures will be easy ( how many of our freshmen will remember that much about Mitt Romney?) In reviewing the table of contents, I found the book has a logical flow that begins with defining what government is and then proceeds to provide information on the critical subjects of our American Government by Glenn Krutz covers a lot of ground. I have not noticed any internal tensions or inconsistencies within the text. The explanation of disagreements and legal decisions in particular is objective yet clear what values, tradeoffs, etc were at stake and how the decisions affected government especially. The textbook is very comprehensive with more than 650 pages of content plus appendices with relevant documents. Nearly all of the material presented is relevant. 1. As other agents of socialization dont seem to educate students in how essential their participation is to a healthy democratic system, any text that emphasizes and provides easy ways to engage in politics is welcome. To learn about the specific purchase options for this program, please contact our Customer Service team at 800-338-3987. These aren't things I ever bother with in textbooks, so I have no opinion about whether they are useful or not in this case. The chapters are subdivided into appropriate sections with relevant information with documentation given with charts, diagrams, references to Supreme Court decisions and stories from media sources. There is an additional chapter on State & Local government aside from the chapter on federalism - which offers The writers were able to demonstrate intersections across time, incorporating themes that could easily be segregated in a single chapter. Reviewed by M. Victoria Perez-Rios, Adjunct Assistant Professor, La Guardia Community College on 5/21/18, The textbook is very comprehensive with more than 650 pages of content plus appendices with relevant documents. The text would be very easy to divide into smaller sections. Concepts well explained and presented. Some of the current graphs and charts will need to be updated.The links to learning sections make it possible to quickly find current data and information. As a policy professor with professional experience in the field, I would be likely to use cases to follow up about how policy content accounts for those decisions in a process that includes policy actors (private and public)). Federalism. The book seemed to use inclusive examples--for example, the racial breakdown of the federal judiciary. The text, while voluminous, should be readily understandable to the typical student. There are also some advantages to this textbook, including clarity of the writing and various appendixes that include the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Federalist 10 and 51 right in the book. Geared as a unit in t As mentioned earlier, the book is reasonably up to date. However, all textbooks--standard or OER--face this issue. For every chapter a special effort could be made to fully integrate the experiences and writings of people of color. In fact, the whole world pretty much looks democratic and thats not true. I did not see any grammatical errors while doing so. V of the Constitution. From the origins of the US political system, the constitutional framework, participatory inputs, formal institutions, and public policy, the major points are By the standards of Introduction to American Politics textbooks, this is a comprehensive offering. The book does include a chapter on state and local government, which is often not covered in U.S. government textbooks. I did not find any grammatical errors in the text. While no text does a perfect job at inclusiveness, I was impressed at the myriad examples of diverse cultural experiences incorporated throughout the text. I was impressed by how up to date the text was. - Unit I Test - The Foundations of the United States Government + Wednesday September 16th, 2016 HW: TED Talk: Lawrence Lessig . As for bias, the author(s) definitely stayed neutral in their descriptions of the events regarding the Trump presidency and their effect on American society. The textbook contents are organized in an insightful way, beginning with core foundational elements of the Constitution, federalism, civil liberties and civil rights. My preference would be to have these topics addressed earlier on in the textbook. For example, reelection rates to Congress stops at 2014. by. The text provides a very objective and accurate account of the full layout of American government. The authors do a superb job. The professor can supply larger themes to the broader course and this textbook can fit nearly any theme with important and clear information on American Government. The text is free from interface issues as it was easy to read and navigate, and the graphics displayed properly. The text would be easily divisible by chapter. As clearly noted, I found far more to like about the text than not. Overall there are no major things to complain about here. These help to engage students and cultivate reading, writing, and critical-thinking skills in a unique, and ever-growing platform. I like the fact that the authors attempt to present both sides in discussing problems and issues which contributes to an unbias pr This textbook provides a comprehensive framework for introductory American government. The textbook is ideologically neutral throughout, with one exception. I found it very appropriate for undergraduates. Changes like these are expected and I do not think that this would be too difficult to do. Straightforward comparisons with oligarchy and monarchy. Alternate ISBNs. All of the topics you would expect to be covered in an American government 101 course are here: origins of our republic, institutions, individual action and collective action. 1997. See previous answer immediately above I do not detect any issues here. You can use that resource if you would prefer, but you're responsible for locating the correct excerpts. The definition of public opinion is probably not as accurate as it could be. . democracy: [noun] a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. For example, I may not get the chance to dedicate a whole class to elections but I can use sections of the chapter on elections in relation to civil rights, to Congress and to the Executive. United States Government Democracy in Action Student ~ United States Government Democracy in Action Student Edition GOVERNMENT IN THE 1st Edition by McGrawHill Author 43 out of 5 stars 14 ratings ISBN13 9780078799822 ISBN10 0078799821 Why is ISBN important ISBN This barcode number lets you verify that youre getting exactly the right version or edition of a book The book's seventeen chapters are well-divided into five parts. So do be sure, if adopting this text, to carefully preview the chapters for any issues like this. The question-and-an-swer format covers a broad range of topics dealing with the legisla- Very logical and clear organization. Each chapter offers an introduction, 3 to 5 written sections covering the topic, key terms, summary, review questions, critical thinking questions, and suggestions for further study. 28 . THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES in 10 minutes The 1619 Project Exposed: A Special Edition of the American Mind . This is a well put together textbook and with periodic revisions should be useful for students of American government for many years and decades to come. Identify politics should be present in more sections of the text. I think it would be harder to pull apart sections of the book independently and rearrange them. The text is also 100% iPad compatible. There is also a Link to Learning in each module that guides readers to content related updates that are available online. Basics of American Government - University of North Georgia I suspect some will like this placement and others not, it is likely a matter or preference, but is worth noting. This immediately gives an indication of how the material will flow. It covers most, if not all, of the material that I typically cover in my American Government course and does so in an engaging way. There is little to nothing lost compared to a mainstream textbook. All of the topics you would expect to be covered in an American government 101 course are here: origins of our republic, institutions, individual action and collective action. when necessary. The Feature Boxes act as a springboard to easily engage students beyond the confines of the text. Krutz joined the Department of Political Science in 2002. LGBT rights seem to be given less treatment than African American rights. A good example of such are the Continuing Challenges sections. Yet a majority also says that the "fundamental design and structure" of U.S. government is in need of "significant changes" to make it work today. The opening parts of the book though do focus a bit more on economics than I would prefer. By comparison, another online textbook on American government (which will remain nameless) had a clear bias from the very first chapter. Overall it is a bit smaller in word count than a traditional hard copy textbook and some of the chapters are smaller than I would like. I have used this text this semester (fall 2017) here at Penn State Berks with good success. As to presenting information in an unbiased minor, I would argue that Kurtz et. The authors updated the contents reflecting current events and political landscape. Learning objectives are clearly identified for each unit, and each unit concludes with a concise summary of main points followed by multiple-choice and short answer questions. Technical terms are clearly explained allowing the typical college to understand unfamiliar terms/concepts. Pricing for school accounts will display in the cart once you are logged in. Only 2 left in stock - order soon. Building Democracy for All is an interactive, multimodal, multicultural, open access e-book for teaching and learning key topics in United States Government and Civic Life. suggestions as to taking featured topics a step further. The sources cited, within the sections of each of the various chapters, are from reputable, recognizable experts in their fields of study. I did not find the book cultural insensitive. The text is particularly impressive with its section on "Equal Protection for Other Groups" as it provides an exceptional overview of the challenges many groups have faced in the United States with thoughtful explanations of landmark Supreme Court cases and legislation impacting the struggle for civil rights. For example, the section on ideology equates authoritarianism with the right side of the political spectrum, even though authoritarianism as a ruling style can also be commonly found in communist or socialist polities; students might be led to conclude that communists and socialists aren't about control. This is particularly identifiable in chapters one and two. Teachers Edition:The print Teacher Wraparound Edition is built on the principles of Understanding by Design. However, clearly, the information in this textbook is presented, in a manner that allows for updating as changing occur with major political events, elections, Supreme Court decisions, demographical data, and public opinion. As another example, the description of Adam Smiths views on wealth accumulation is oversimplified and arguably misleading. Of course since a key feature of this book is to present a considerable amount of material that combines theory and application and stimulate critical thinking, covering the volume of materials given the way it is divided may present a challenge over one semester. Such can pose a roadblock for the easily distracted student or the person using the aid of a text reader. The textbook content is clearly organized into sensible modules. Furthermore, I think there are not enough appropriate charts and illustrations to engage student attention. The index is clear and useful and the chapter glossaries are The text covers all areas that one would expect from an introduction to American Government textbook. The textbook interface is free from any major interface issues or navigation problems. most of the chapters are pretty well self-contained and explain relevant concepts from other chapters so the student doesn't get lost. The textbook is very comprehensive with more than 650 pages of content plus appendices with relevant documents. In doing so, the approach seeks to provide instructors with ample opportunities to open discussions, extend and update concepts, and drive deeper engagement. Everything was clear and easy to find, including graphics, charts, and figures. read more.